Crimson Red one of four colours available for the N Line. Image: Hyundai.
Announced for South Africa two months ago as the returning sportiest model in its line-up, Hyundai has officially divulged price and specification details of the Tucson N Line.
Unveiled in Europe as far back as 2021 as the apparent preview of the long rumoured but not confirmed Tucson N, the N Line, as its name indicates, receives a number of N specific touches inside and out, albeit without any extra power or torque.
Based on the Elite that tops the Tucson range, the exterior add-ons consist of the N Line front and rear bumpers, extended door sills, a gloss black Parametric grille, a satin silver front skidplate and a gloss black finish to the sides of the bumper underneath the fog lamps.
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Down the side, Hyundai has replaced the black wheel arch cladding with colour coded items, blacked-out the D-pillar, fitted model specific dual-tone 19-inch N alloy wheels and finished the mirror caps in Phantom Black.
Sole changes at the rear are a satin silver faux diffuser, new bumper mounted reflectors and dual exhaust outlets relocated to the right of the diffuser.
Inside, red stitching has been applied to the steering wheel, on the doors, black leather-and-suede seats, front armrest and on the gear lever, which resembles that of the Kona N and i30 N instead of the standard Tucson.
A black roofliner, N badged steering wheel, alloy pedals and N embroidered seatbacks round the interior off, though excluded are the alloy paddle shifters offered in Europe.
Still equipped with the four mode selector; Eco, Normal, Smart and Sport, the N Line also receives an off-road mode with three settings Mud, Sand and Snow, which means it becomes the first, and so far only, new Tucson derivative to receive Hyundai’s HTRAC all-wheel-drive system.
As for specification, the N Line’s features sheet has not been altered from that of the Elite, meaning it gets the following as standard:
As mentioned, Hyundai has kept the N Line’s powertrain unchanged, which means the sole availability of the 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine for first time in a sporty Tucson since the locally developed Tucson Sport of the previous generation.
In this instance though, the oil-burner develops 137kW/416Nm instead of 150kW/460Nm, which translates to a top speed of 201 km/h and 0-100 km/h in 9.4 seconds.
The sole transmission choice entrusted with the sending the amount to twist to all four corners, is an eight-speed automatic. Claimed fuel consumption, according to Hyundai, is 7.4 L/100 km.
Available in three colours; White Cream, Titan Grey, Phantom Black and Crimson Red, the Tucson N Line carries a sticker price of R799 900 that includes a seven-year/200 000 km warranty as well as a six-year/90 000 km service plan.
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